Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023 | 14 Dec 2023

Source: TH

Why in News?

Recently, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has launched the Asia-Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023: Statistics and Trends, which said 74.1% of Indians were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021.

What are the Key Highlights of the Report?

• Global:
  • The prevalence of undernourishment in the Asia and the Pacific region decreased to 8.4% in 2022 from 8.8% of the previous year, equivalent to around 12 million fewer undernourished people than in 2021, but 55 million more than in 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • With 370.7 million undernourished people, the Asia and the Pacific region represents half of the world’s undernourished people.
  • Southern Asia accounts for almost 314 million of the region’s undernourished people. This represents 85 % of undernourished people in the Asia and the Pacific region.
  • There are more severely food insecure individuals in Southern Asia than any other subregions.
  • Women across the subregions, except for Eastern Asia, tend to be more food insecure than men.
• Indian:
  • Inability to Afford Healthy Diet: 74.1% of Indians were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021, in 2020, the percentage was 76.2.
    • Comparison with Neighboring Countries: Pakistan had 82.2% and Bangladesh had 66.1% of their populations facing difficulties in accessing healthy food.
  • Regional Nutrition and Food Security: 16.6% of India's population is undernourished.
    • India has a lower prevalence of moderate or severe and severe Food Insecurity compared to the world since 2015.
  • Children's Health: Stunting affected 31.7% of children under five, while wasting (low weight for height) was prevalent in 18.7% of children under five.
    • The WHO global nutrition target for childhood wasting is less than 5%.
    • Stunted growth and development are the result of poor maternal health and nutrition, inadequate infant and young child feeding practices, and repeated infections interacting with a variety of other factors over a sustained period.
  • Women's Health: 53% of the country’s women aged between 15 to 49 had anaemia, which was the largest prevalence rate in India in 2019.
    • Anaemia impairs health and well-being in women and increases the risk for adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.
  • Obesity and Nutrition Indicators: 1.6% of the country’s adults are obese as of 2000, according to the FAO. The figure has increased to 3.9% by 2016.
  • Exclusive Breastfeeding: On exclusive breastfeeding among infants 0–5 months of age, India has improved the prevalence with a percentage of 63.7%, which is higher than the world prevalence – 47.7%.
    • India has the highest prevalence of low birthweight in the region (27.4%), followed by Bangladesh and Nepal.